1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the operation of multiple clean rooms in a compound within a common enclosure structure, and more particularly to a method of minimizing contamination in the rooms and minimizing cross contamination between the rooms.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is well known, particularly in life sciences laboratories, to provide a plurality of individual clean rooms in a larger common enclosure structure, or room. The clean rooms may be relatively rigid enclosures or portable structures including a self-supporting framework covered with a flexible sheet material such as a vinyl sheet, with the individual enclosures having one or more blower-filter units (hereinafter, blowers) for continuously providing a flow of air through high efficiency particulate air filters (HEPA filters) to the room. One known vinyl covered clean room arrangement is disclosed, for example, in my prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,804,392, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. The blowers used with such clean rooms typically have a capacity to completely replenish the air in the rooms at least about once every minute of operation, with the air escaping the rooms primarily beneath the bottom edges of the flexible walls.
It is also known to operate clean rooms under a slight negative, or sub-atmospheric pressure, in which case the blowers typically draw air from within the room, again through HEPA filters, and discharge the filtered air into the atmosphere within the common enclosure, and air is replaced in the rooms primarily through filters contained in inlets in the walls or top of the rooms.
In the operation of laboratories employing multiple portable clean rooms such as the clean room described in my prior patent mentioned above, a compound of individual clean rooms are typically arranged in end-to-end or side-to-side relation in parallel rows within the enclosure structure, with an access corridor between the rows, and with the blowers positioned behind the individual rooms on the side thereof opposite the access corridor, or with sufficient space between adjacent rooms in each row to accommodate the blowers located therebetween and to provide access to the blowers for servicing, and with the rows spaced apart to provide an access corridor. Access to the individual clean room is provided, for example, through an air lock-enclosed access curtain or wall in the sidewall of the individual room facing the access corridor between the rows. It is also known to locate the blowers on the top of the individual clean rooms.